Key-guard.



No. 763,920. P ATENTED JUNE 28, 1904.

A. MORE-LL.

KEY GUARD. I APPLIUATIGN FILED SEPT. 12, 190s.

N0 MODEL.

Tu: Nonms PETERS co., PHOTO-uwe. wAsHmGTcN, u. c.

UNITED STATES Patented June 28, 1904.

ALLEN MORELL, OF CRIPPLEOREEK, COLORADO.

KEY-GUARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 763,920, dated June 28, 1904.

v Application liled September 12, 1903. Serial No. 172,991. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ALLEN MORELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cripplecreek, in the county of Teller and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Key- Guard, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is an improved construction of key-guard, the object being to provide a simple and efcient device which can be attached to the inner face of the door and by means of which the key of the lock can be rigidly fastened, thereby preventing any one from the outer side of the door turning the key or picking the lock; and with this object in view the invention consists, essentially, of a slotted bracket-arm, to 'which is pivoted a plate or bar folded centrally upon itself providing a keeper for receiving the ring of the key, the said keeper portion being slotted longitudinally and having a spring-actuated lever pivoted upon the upper side thereof, said lever carrying a finger adapted to be projected through the slots of the keeper and also through the ring of the key, thereby locking the said key within the keeper.

The invention consists also in certain details of construction hereinafter fullydescribed, and pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings forming part of this specication, Figure l is a perspective view showing the practical application of my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of the guard detached from the door. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the keeper and lever. Fig. 4 is a View of the blank from which the keeper is formed. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective View of the lever and Enger connected thereto.

In carrying out my invention I employ a horizontal bracket-arm A, having a foot-piece A', by means of which it is securely fastened to the door-frame or door, said arm being slotted longitudinally, as shown at A2, and pivotally connected to this arm is the keeper B, formed from a single piece of metal bent centrally upon itself, as shown at B', the pivot B2 connecting the ends of the same, said pivot working in the longitudinal slot A2, so that the keeper has not only a pivotal movement upon the arm, but also a movement back and forth or toward or away from the face of the door, so that the guard can be made to accommodate keys with different lengths of shanks. A rivet B3 connects the members adjacent the pivot-point, and at B4 the members are spread slightly, so as to make the outer or free end of the keeper sufciently large to receive all varieties of keys. The keeper is slotted lon# gitudinally, as shown at B5, both top and bottom, and is provided with integral pivot-ears Bi and the .upwardly-extending post B7. An elbow-lever O, having trunnions O', is pivoted between the ears B, said lever carrying a nger O2, which is adapted to be projected through the slots B5 and also through the ring of the key, which is inserted in the keeper, and the upper end of the lever is formed with a downwardly-extending stud O3, and between the post B7 and stud C3 is the spring D, the purpose of which is to hold the finger C2 in the slots B5 and ring of the key.

In operation the ring of the key is turned to a horizontal position after the door has been locked, and the keeper is then swung upon the bracket-arm and the ring of the key inserted therein, the lever being raised, as shown in Fig. 2, and after the ring of the key has been inserted to the proper point the lever is released, and the spring will force the. finger C2 downwardly through the slots, thereby locking the said key in the keeper, as most clearly shown in Figs. l and 3, thereby preventing the key being turned and also preventing it being pushed from the lock.

It will thus be seen that I provide a simple key-guard by means of which the interference with the key from the outer side of the door is prevented. Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A key-guard comprising a bracket-arm having a longitudinal slot, a keeper pivotally connected to said bracket-arm, the pivot being adapted to slide in a horizontal slot in said bracket-arm, the free end of said keeper being slotted longitudinally, and the spring-actuztted lever havingalinger adapted to be prol tending post, the lever pivoted between the IO jeeted through the slots ot' the keeper, as set ears and carrying a downwardly-extending forth. finger, and also a, downWardly-extending stud, 2. A key-guard comprising a longitudinallyand the spring arranged between the stud and 5 slotted bracket-arm, the keeper formed from post, for the purpose Speeilied.

a strip of metal bent centrally upon itself, ALLEN MORELL. pivotally connected to the bracket-arm, slotlltnessesz ted longitudinally both top and bottom, prol ANTON M EHRLICH, vided with pivot-ears and the upwardly-ex- I JOHN A. BAUMAN. 

